PHILADELPHIA — “Does it look cool?”
Trevor Keegan opened his phone’s camera function and inspected the bleeding cut on his forehead. The rookie guard frowned and nodded in approval.
“Oh, that ain’t bad,” he mused at his locker. “That ain’t bad at all.”
It wasn’t a bad battle scar for an NFL debut. It wasn’t a bad omen, either. If the Philadelphia Eagles were going to restore themselves as Super Bowl contenders, it was going to require new blood.
Keegan wasn’t yet an Eagle when the overhaul began a year ago. The lineman was still relishing Michigan’s national championship parade when Philadelphia’s meltdown mercifully reached its end. The eventual fifth-rounder was still just a blip on Howie Roseman’s draft board when the general manager sat at a dais next to a dejected Nick Sirianni and divulged their reasons for ditching both coordinators — an effort to maximize a roster that needed repairs.
That Keegan played at all in Philadelphia’s 20-13 win over the New York Giants in Sunday’s regular season finale embodies how swiftly this regime stabilized itself. Eighteen backups started in a Week 18 game the Eagles rendered meaningless by locking up the NFC’s No. 2 playoff seed last week. The team’s depth finished what its leading roles started: a 14-3 season defined by a historic rushing attack, dominant defensive play and the development of a young core that remains under contract for several seasons.
The Eagles stashed 11 starters on Sunday’s inactive list and knowingly entered the game with one fewer player than the 48-man roster each team is permitted on game days. They sat Saquon Barkley, eschewing a shot at Eric Dickerson’s single-season rushing record for a shot at a Super Bowl. They started third-string quarterback Tanner McKee, who, with Jalen Hurts (concussion) and Kenny Pickett (ribs) still sidelined, threw for 269 yards and two touchdowns. They fielded a second-team defense that held a miserable Giants offense scoreless in the first half and intercepted Drew Lock on New York’s final play of the game.
“We have a standard that pervades any group that we have,” defensive tackle Thomas Booker said.
A @Sydbrown___ game-clinching interception 🙂↕️ pic.twitter.com/mSZlwwo14Y
— Philadelphia Eagles (@Eagles) January 5, 2025
They fulfilled their defensive desires under Vic Fangio, a seven-time coordinator, who, in his first year in Philly, fielded the NFL’s top overall defense. The Eagles surrendered their fewest points per game (17.8) since 2004, their fewest offensive yards per game (278.35) since 2008 and owned their highest defensive EPA per play (0.09) since 2017. The franchise’s young batch of defenders have flourished within Fangio’s game plans. The second-team unit supported an early 10-0 lead by surrendering 84 first-half yards, the team’s sixth-fewest of the season. The Giants gained just four first downs in the first half, and two required fourth-down conversions on a drive that ended with one of New York’s two turnovers on downs.
Devoid of any significance for final standings, this was a game that, for the Eagles, featured its meaning within those who spend their time in the background. There was Jeremiah Trotter Jr. at his locker, a fifth-round rookie after his first start, chatting on the phone with his father, an Eagles Hall of Famer. There was E.J. Jenkins, a first-year tight end who’d been elevated three times in 2024 from the practice squad, who, in the fourth quarter, caught his first career touchdown pass. He faked hurling the ball into the stands (a jest at A.J. Brown’s gaffe last week with McKee’s first touchdown toss) and handed it to Grant Calcaterra. Jenkins had to stay on the field with the field goal team.
There was backup cornerback Isaiah Rodgers, who, in addition to this third spot start of 2024, returned the opening kick of the second half 51 yards.
“Felt good to run through the wind,” Rodgers said, still layered up from a 31-degree day.
There was Ainias Smith, a fifth-round receiver who spent the first six games of the season rehabbing his ankle while on injured reserve. McKee tagged the rookie with his first career touchdown reception, a 15-yard pass on the first drive of the game. There was Jahan Dotson, the former first-round pick acquired in a training camp trade, who, as the No. 3 option behind Brown and DeVonta Smith never had more than four targets in a game. Dotson led the Eagles with seven catches for 94 yards.
McKee secured his first career win in his first NFL start within a game plan in which his 26 first-half attempts were the team’s most in 2024. Offensive coordinator Kellen Moore constructed a run-oriented system around Hurts and Barkley, and, with both players sidelined, the Eagles ran the ball just nine times in the first half, tied for their lowest of the season. Sirianni said McKee demonstrated “complete control,” and the fourth-year head coach projected confidence in the quarterback room’s depth if McKee must ever be called upon during the postseason.
GO DEEPER
Eagles top Giants 20-13; Philly to host Green Bay in NFC wild card: Takeaways
“Did you see Tanner McKee just throwing dimes all over the field?” said starting center Cam Jurgens, who was inactive on Sunday. “You know, he’s fun to watch. We get to see him dice up our scout team, and it’s just fun watching him go out there and make plays. We’ve got a lot of depth.”
Still, Philadelphia’s collective faith in their depth is fueled by two wins against far inferior opponents. The Eagles blew a two-score lead to the Washington Commanders after Hurts exited the Week 16 loss with a concussion in the first quarter. Pickett built a 27-7 lead against the Dallas Cowboys (7-10) before re-injuring his ribs on a touchdown pass. McKee threw both of his touchdowns against a Giants defense that finished the year with the NFL’s sixth-lowest defensive EPA per play (-0.04), per TruMedia.
Hurts hasn’t practiced since his injury. No other Eagles player has missed two games in concussion protocol. It’s yet uncertain if Hurts will miss the first round of the playoffs. Sirianni said Hurts attended the team’s Saturday walk-through, which indicates Hurts could return to practice once activities resume this week. Pickett, who dressed out for Sunday’s game, was officially active and advised McKee on the sideline. McKee said he hasn’t “thought about” his feelings on whether he’d have to start in the postseason.
“I’ll let those guys answer any questions that they want about them,” McKee said. “But obviously I’m going to do my preparation to play, because I’ve been doing that all season. I’m going to be doing the same thing. I’ll be ready whether I’m the one, the two, the three, the six, whatever it is. It’s just doing my own thing.”
The Eagles will host the Green Bay Packers in the wild-card round next weekend in a rematch of their regular-season opener in Sao Paulo. Jurgens said it feels “like it’s been a year since we played them last in Brazil, my God.” Both teams have adapted into their postseason forms since the Eagles beat the Packers 34-29. Both are dealing with injuries. Packers quarterback Jordan Love injured his elbow in Green Bay’s regular season finale against the Chicago Bears, but he told reporters he could’ve returned to the game. The Packers placed starting cornerback Jaire Alexander on injured reserve on Saturday after knee surgery, and Christian Watson, the team’s third-leading receiver, exited Sunday’s game after being carted off the field after what looked like a non-contact knee injury.
The Eagles opened as 3.5-point favorites in what will be their first home playoff game since the 2022 season. Sirianni, who has now coached both of the franchise’s 14-win teams, said “it’s taken a lot of people to win 14 games.” The organization rebounded from a 2-2 start and won 12 of its last 13 games. That 13-game stretch included injuries to Hurts, to starting left tackle Jordan Mailata, to tight end Dallas Goedert, who, in his return from injured reserve, totaled four catches for 55 yards in two drives.
They know how to handle what Jurgens called “do or die time.”
Or, as Keegan put it, dabbing the blood from his forehead:
“The future favors those who keep pressing on.”
(Top photo: Bill Streicher / Imagn Images)
